Issues in Public and Nonprofit Administration

Archive for March, 2017

I chose to not use the websites to find volunteer opportunities. I am blessed to have friends that work with some nonprofit organizations. The first organization that I volunteered with is the Special Olympics of TN. I really love working with this organization. One of my best friends, Nick Dokes, works for Bios Inc. and his individual participates in Special Olympics. I think this nonprofit is an unbelievably amazing organization. It gives special need children and adults the opportunity to participate and compete! This is something that wouldn’t be possible any other way. Special Olympics is fully reliant on volunteers. In my opinion, this is something that is very easy to volunteer for. They are doing a great cause and you can help put a smile on others’ faces while putting one on your face as well. I have been familiar with this organization because my high school hosts the event. The event was just a practice to get ready for the actual event. It was held in Lewis County, which is where I grew up. I helped them with the activities that the individuals will be competing in in the main event. Running, throwing, and volleyball were a few of the events that will be played. I had a great time volunteering for this nonprofit because of the impact that was felt. I could tell that I was making an impact on those people when they would come to me and just hug me like they had known me all of their lives. It is special to know that you are helping someone that really wants and needs your help. I love this organization and I will be doing many more volunteer hours with them in the future.

The second volunteer opportunity I participated in was with my friend, Jack Walker. He was actually doing some construction work at the site and told me about the nonprofit. This nonprofit is called WWIA (Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation). This particular site was at Double Creek in Lewis County. This nonprofit helps Purple Heart recipients. According to the website, “WWIA’s mission is to provide world-class outdoor sporting activities as a means to recognize and honor their sacrifice, encourage independence and connections with communities, and promote healing and wellness through camaraderie and a shared passion for the outdoors” (https://www.wwiaf.org/about.php). This place was incredible. I learned a lot of things about the military, as well as heard a lot of stories from people who came to experience this nonprofit. I was able to carry guys into the field and let them hunt. I loved this because it allowed me the opportunity to communicate with individuals that were willing to sacrifice far more than myself. I was honored to be allowed to volunteer with this nonprofit. The website for this nonprofit is https://www.wwiaf.org/index.php. This website is very clear. It tells you specific locations as well as contact information. It tells you the mission, goals, and how it reaches these goals. It promotes their sponsors and lets you donate yourself. You can also buy clothes and things off the website to help with money too! It also has a calendar that lets you know when events will be going on at the different locations so that you can volunteer if it is possible. This nonprofit is an amazing one and if you have the chance I would highly recommend trying to go out and experience it for yourself!

The third one that I plan to do is from the Hands On Nashville website. I plan to volunteer with the Nashville Food Project meal prep in April. I haven’t ever heard of this before, but it seems like a great cause that could always use more help! You can volunteer for any day you can do it! It will tell you if they need volunteers for that specific day and if so then you can easily sign up. It tells you who is in charge and it gives you that person’s email. Kelli Johnson is the lady in charge of this event. You can sign up as an individual or sign up as a team of 2, 3, or 4. There is nothing you have to do before volunteering, only a dress code. The dress code isn’t strict, just nothing revealing can be worn! This is something that I am interested in and I think that anyone that eats healthy or sees eating healthy as important would find it interesting. I think this is a great opportunity to do some behind the scenes volunteering. Preparing meals is something that no one really thinks about when they are eating but someone has to do the dirty work! If you are a shy person or someone that doesn’t like meeting a lot of new people then this could be great opportunity that you could do. I look forward to participating in this and hope it goes as well as I expect!

On Sunday morning, February 26, 2017, I posed a daunting question to an unsuspecting audience. I inquired whether the water pollution in Flint, Michigan had been remedied. I made this profound inquiry concerning the Flint water crisis on my Facebook timeline. Had the crisis ended? Did the residents of this populous city have drinkable water yet ? Had the lead pipes been replaced? Was all well in the city of Flint? My Facebook friends hadn’t the slightest clue. Only four friends responded. Of that number, only one gave a definite answer, naw. The other hundreds of friends gave no response. I concluded they were either as clueless as the few who had given vague responses or these hundreds of people were all preoccupied with more taxing dilemmas like food selfies, relationship perils, battles of religion, or maybe they were simply uninterested. I will not ever know for sure. Nonetheless, I did manage to receive five likes from this group:D

With so few responses, I was forced to disengage. I had to detach myself from my tried and true method for gathering information and facts. No longer could I garner knowledge from the book in this fashion. Merely posting an inquiry had failed me. Reliance on the scholarship of other bright intellectuals within my group of Facebook friends proved to be ineffective. For the first time ever, my inquiry did not invoke the wisdom I sought. Consequently, a challenge emerged. I had to gird myself for the inevitable. I could no longer trust “The Book” to provide answers to the social issues and questions I found most concerning. Armed with these new facts, I found the courage to bid Facebook farewell. I accepted my challenge and began a new quest for truth.

To obtain truth, I devoted both time and effort as well as patience and strength. I needed all of these traits in order to persevere and get that which I was in search of. I needed to know whether the Flint water crisis had been remedied. So, with my goal in mind and with all the will power I could muster, I managed to successfully venture outside “The Book”. As I bid Facebook farewell, I championed on, growing stronger with every keystroke. Yes, I said keystroke. I faced my challenge valiantly. I did it. I survived outside “The Book”. I moved on. I ASKED GOOGLE.

It was here where I discovered my lone friend from Facebook had indeed answered me correctly. To every question I posed, the truth I obtained rang louder and louder in my ear. NAW, NAW, NAW!

Through my google search, I found several articles and timelines which gave a detail account of the happenings in Flint Michigan. I gained more knowledge than I had set out to find. Mission accomplished. Challenge complete. Based on the information I read at

NAW!As of today, the water crisis in Flint, Michigan has not been completely remedied.

Despite the efforts of the federal, state, and local governments, as well as the efforts of nonprofit groups like The United Way, the crisis has not ended. Foundations, celebrities, and other concerned citizens have put forth a concerted effort to aid this broken city. Water filters, bottled water, and financial contributions have been given to support the people of Flint. The tremendous outpouring of support for the health and welfare of Flint’s residents has been overwhelming. One can only wonder whether the funds generated will indeed be used for the purposes intended.

NAW! The poverty-stricken residents of this populous city still do not have drinkable water flowing through the pipes of their homes, businesses, schools, or churches.

Even though Governor Richard Dale Snyder signed a bill to help reconnect the city of Flint back to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) which provides quality water from Lake Huron instead of the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA) which provided toxic water from the Flint River the people of Flint are advised not to drink the water without the usage of a certified NSF water filters.

Naw! All the lead pipes have not been replaced through Mayor Karen Weavers Fast Start program which began twelve months ago in March of 2016.

It was reported by Flint Spokeswoman Kristin Moore that only about 800 homes have had replacement pipelines installed thus far. It is estimated that more than 15,000 homes are still in need of replacement pipelines. It is projected to take years to complete the task. Meanwhile, a And finally, naw, all is not well in the city of Flint, for far too many children have suffering. They are suffering from various health effects like diminished hand-eye-coordination, speech impairment, behavioral disorders, stunted growth, auditory issues, delayed puberty, psychological despair of knowing they were poisoned and now run the risk of acquiring cancer or even disease of the heart, kidneys, or nerves.

Meanwhile, my Google voyage has been epic. I am wiser now than I was before. All of my questions have been answered. This voyage has invoked compelling questions I would not have otherwise considered had my Facebook method worked. Because of its failure, I am better. I stand victorious and even more inquisitive. Now that my challenge is complete and I have obtained the knowledge which I sought, I move forward toward the following matters surrounding the Flint water crisis:

Can the very officials and politicians who were the catalyst for the existing water crisis be trusted to proportionately handle the financial contributions given to heal this ailing city?

Would the officials, who were elected to serve and protect the community of Flint, have acted more swiftly to switch the water supply from the KWA back to the DWSD if the majority of Flint’s citizens were not black?

Would this crisis have altogether been avoided if the median household income was higher than $25,000?